Whitsbury Castle
Whitsbury Castle | |
Wiltshire | |
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The outermost ditch of Whitsbury Castle | |
Type: | hillfort |
Location | |
Location: | 50°58’34"N, 1°49’9"W |
History | |
Information | |
Owned by: | private |
Whitsbury Castle, or Whitsbury Castle Ditches, is the site of an Iron Age univallate hillfort located near the village of Whitsbury in Wiltshire. The fort is roughly pear-shaped, located on a chalk outcrop, and covering approximately sixteen acres. The defences comprise two large ramparts with outer ditches and an additional counter scarp bank on the northern half.[1] The original entrance was at the southwestern corner but has been destroyed by the construction of a post-mediæval manor house. The site has been in use throughout the ages, with excavation revealing mesolithic activity, an association with a Bronze Age ranch boundary, an Iron Age hillfort settlement, followed much later by Anglo-Saxon renovation and reuse of the defences.[2] The site is privately owned but is flanked externally on all sides but east by public bridleways.
The site is listed as a scheduled ancient monument no.94.
References
- ↑ http://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/vol05/page317.html Hampshire Treasures website
- ↑ http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=11334 The Megalithic Portal